Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, November 14th. Psalm 139 tells us that God paid close attention when he created you. Just imagine how much he has planned for the rest of your life. Join us now for more on God's loving desire for you. I don't know all of God's will for anyone else's life.
But this I do know that God has certain desires for your life and my life. And that is the theme of this message. And the title of the message is this, God's loving desire for you. And I want you to turn, if you will, to 1 Timothy. And in 1 Timothy, the second chapter, Paul is talking about worship in the church.
And praying, and in the midst of that, he tells us something here concerning. God's desire for us that I think it would be helpful if you and I understood this because it'll make a difference in how we see ourselves, how we see God, how we look at life.
So he begins by saying in chapter 2, verse 1: First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be. made on behalf of all men. For kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But there is one God and one mediator. Also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony born at the proper time. And for this I was appointed a preacher, and I was And an apostle, I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying. As a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Therefore, I want the men in every place. To pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension. And so Paul in the midst of this admonition to Timothy concerning worship. Says that God has two desires for you and for me. He says, who desires all men to be saved and to come, listen, he says, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
So there are two parts to this. First of all, he desires that we all be saved. And second, he desires that you and I come to the knowledge of the truth.
Now, the knowledge of the truth about what?
Well, first of all, the knowledge of the truth about our salvation. You know why many people are saved? And before long, you don't see them. One of the primary reasons is this. They get saved, and no one instructs them and explains to them what happened.
God, listen, wants us to understand, to come to a knowledge of the truth, what He did for us. And so many people get saved and it's like... You get saved, it would say, Well, do the best you can. That's like putting a baby out on the steps after they're born and say, well, just grow up the best you can. And that is exactly what's happened to a lot of people.
Yeah. When you and I were saved, so many things went on, it's absolutely fascinating to discover it and to think about it. But let's check for just a moment. When you were saved, the Bible says. That you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
You and I responded, listen, we responded to the Holy Spirit's conviction. Who brought us to conviction about our sinfulness and then brought us also to. A knowledge that Jesus Christ died for us, and by receiving Him by faith, As our personal Savior, we'd be saved.
So you see, we responded to salvation. But what really went on? There's so many things that went on. Let me mention just a few. When you were saved, the Bible says that you were forgiven, you were redeemed, you were reconciled, you were sanctified, you were justified, you were glorified.
All of these big terms that talk about all the things that God saw, no more guilt. Reconciled, brought back into fellowship with him, sin debt, paid in full, set apart unto him for his service, glorified in the mind of God. All these things happened sealed by the Holy Spirit in the day of redemption, and on and on and on we could go of all the things that were transacted in the mind of God the moment all you did is receive him by faith as your personal savior. But you see, if you don't understand that. Then what happens?
You say, Well, I just trusted Jesus as my Savior, and He saved me. My friend, there's so much that went on when you were saved.
So many things happen. In the mind of God, that it happened 2,000 years ago that brought you to the place of salvation. You see, because the fact that He says that all men, He died for all men, does not mean that everybody's going to be saved. That would be a universalism: that no matter who you are, you're going to be saved. The offer is made to all men.
It becomes effective when we as individuals respond to the offer. The offer is universal. Its effect is personal. Only when a person responds personally to the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith are they saved.
So, first of all, he wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth of what happened to us. The second thing he wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth about is who our identity is in Christ.
Now He says, who desires that all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? What is our identity? If I should ask you, tell me, who are you? If I should ask you that, you would probably tell me your name. Where you live.
Who you're married to, your children, and your job, and maybe where you go to church. But you know, that's not who you are. That's not really who you are. And if you ask, most people uh will uh Tell me about yourself. Who are you?
Most people tell you what they do in life. What is our true identity?
Now listen carefully to this. This is very important. What is our true identity now that we're saved?
Well, first of all, We are children of God. That's who we are. We are joint heirs with Christ, the Bible says in Romans chapter 8. That means that everything that Jesus Christ owns and possesses You and I, as brothers to Him, now that we've been saved, we also are participators in and partakers in the wealth that is in heaven. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that we are saints, not sinners' saints. A sinner, according to Scripture, is one who is living in disobedience to God, who has not received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We were sinners. We have been transformed into saints. That does not mean that we do not sin.
It doesn't mean that we don't act like we used to, but we are saints because a saint is one who has been saved by the grace of God and set apart for the purposes of God, haggios. We are holy persons. We might not always act wholly, but we are. You see, that is who we are. Your children, you may say to me, listen, you're not acting like you're part of this family.
Because you have a certain image of the way your family ought to act.
Well, being a part of the family of God, we don't always act like we are part of the family, but that's who we are. We are the saints of God. Not only that, the Bible says that we are a new creation in Christ. We aren't what we used to be, we have been born again. By the Spirit of God.
And are being conformed into the likeness and the image of God through His Son Jesus Christ. We're new creations. That's who we are. That's who you really are. You're a brand new creation.
And the Bible says not only that, but you are a follower of Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that you have a new name. And your new name is what we call ourselves Christians. And not only that, he says, you and I have a new life. We have the life of Christ within us, so who are we?
We are saints. Listen, we are saints transformed into a new creation by the grace of Almighty God provided at the cross of Calvary. That's who we are. New creations in Christ, followers of Jesus Christ. He's given us a new name because we have a brand new life.
What we once had Was physical life and spiritually dead. But now we have the life of Almighty God within us, the person of Jesus Christ, through the presence of the Holy Spirit. That's who we are. Now To some of you, that may be strange.
So, I want you to repeat this after me, and I'm going to give you an example, and then I want you to repeat this. I'm going to say. I am a child of God. I am a joint heir with Jesus Christ. I am a saint.
I am a new creation. I am a follower of Jesus Christ.
Okay. I have his name. I have his life. That's who you are. That's who you are.
Now, that's only part of it. He says, I want you to come to the knowledge, the full knowledge. Of what? Of your salvation experience, and secondly, your identity. Thirdly, your position.
You see, with that kind of identity, what kind of position do I have? We are the sons and daughters of the living God. We have access to heaven. We have authority with God. We've been sealed, the Bible says, under the day in which He calls us by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.
That's our position. Eternally secure. Not only that, he says our position involves more than that. He says that he identified us. Here's our position.
When Jesus Christ was crucified, God said, Romans 6, he said, when he was crucified, God the Father. Saw every single one of us individually in His infinite mind to be able to do so, individually crucified with Him, buried with Him, risen with Him to walk in the newness of life. That's why he talks about the power that is at work within us. That is the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ living his life through the Holy Spirit on the inside of us.
He says we've been crucified with him. We died with them, buried with them, risen with him. That's what baptism is all about. That's our position. What is our position?
Our position is: hey, When he died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried. When he arose, I arose. We are the crucified, buried, risen children of God. who had access to the Father.
We are the saints of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit of redemption. That's what our position is. And we have authority with him, as he says. Not only that, he says we have become partakers of his divine nature. That is, you have the life of God on the inside of you.
That's what your position is. You have the life. of God on the inside of you. In your spirit abides the life of the living God. What is your position?
Your position is that you are abiding in Him. That you're living in Him. You don't know what your position is? If I could draw one picture. On a canvas to say, here's your position, here's what I draw.
I would draw a grapevine. I will draw the vine and the branch, the stem and the grapes. And the sap running through the vine into the branch. Because Jesus said, I'm the vine, you're the branch. His Spirit running through him into us, the Holy Spirit.
producing the grapes. We don't produce them, he does. As a branch. is a part of the vine. As he says, abiding in, living in.
We have been grafted into the vine.
So that the life of Christ is now coursing in your life and my life. We are inseparable with Christ. We are abiding in Him and He's abiding in us. That's our position. No one can break that.
No one can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. What does he say? Who can separate you from the love of Jesus Christ? And list all those things. Nothing and no one can separate you from God.
Your actions and your attitudes and your behavior may oftentimes be like something you used to be, but no one can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Because when He paid my sin debt in full, He paid our sin debt in full for all eternity. Sin past, sin present, sin future. That is our position. And the Bible says not only that, he says, but you and I have been hidden in Christ with God.
That is, if you want to find out where we are. In the mind of God, He says, You're in Christ, Christ is in God, we're in God. He says, Not only that, but we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Ephesians chapter 2. What in the world do we have to worry about? That is their position.
Seated with him. Hidden with him. abiding in him. Access to him. Authority with him.
Sealed by him. That is their position. But how do we act? You see, that's why Paul said: the desire of the heart of God. Is not, listen, the desire of the heart of God is not only that you and I be saved.
But that we come to the knowledge of the truth about our salvation, about who we are, and about our position.
So I want you to quote these after me. What is our position? I have access to God. I have authority with God. I am sealed by the Holy Spirit.
I have been crucified, buried, and risen with Christ. I may partake of His divine nature. I have been hidden with Christ. I'm abiding in Christ. I am seated in the heavenlies with Christ.
I am complete in him. That's your position.
Now think about that. That's your position.
And if you will think about your position, everything you'll ever need is to be found there. Your protection, your providential guidance, your prosperity, whatever it might be, God has provided for you. You see, He wants us to come to the knowledge of who we are. And what our position is. There's one other thing he wants us to know, and that is what our mission is: to come to the full knowledge of.
Our salvation, of our true identity? Come to the full knowledge of our position and what our mission is. What is our mission in life? Here it is: to show for the life of Christ. To show forth the life of Christ.
That is, we're to so live that other people will see the life of Christ within us. He says, our mission, listen, now that we've been saved by the grace of God.
Now that we know who our true identity is, and here's our position, now our mission in life is to show forth the life of Christ. Live it out. How do we do that? We allow Jesus Christ to live His life through us. We just keep on cooperating and keep on agreeing with Christ on the inside of us who says, do this, now do this, now do this, now choose that, choose that, make this decision, do this, follow here, go there.
What do we do? We're just following Him. We're just obeying Him. What's happening? We are showing forth the life of Christ by living in obedience to Him.
And secondly, we are to share the life of Christ. by telling about it and talking about it with someone else. Let me ask you, what is your favorite subject? In the light of the truth of the scripture, what Jesus Christ has done for you and me, listen, what in the world? could be our favorite subject other than Christ.
Jesus Christ, our favorite subject. Because he's their life. He says, I want you to come to the knowledge of the truth. Of your salvation experience, your true identity, your position in Christ, your mission in Christ. I want to tell you something, my friend.
God never established his church for spectators. Think about this. You know why we have so many spectators? Because folks don't know what happened to them in salvation. They don't know what their identity is.
They don't know what their authority is with God, their position, nor do they understand what their mission is.
Now listen carefully. It is impossible. It is impossible. To convince, persuade, excuse, rationalize, or get God to agree with you under any condition. That once you're saved, It's your life to do with what you please.
Listen, he says, You are not your own. Purchase with a price the blood of Christ. We belonged to him. We gave up access. Listen, we gave up rights to ourselves.
whom we trust that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Spectator Christianity is absolutely, totally. A contradiction. to the very life. And the very person of who we are.
Listen. How can you be a follower of Jesus and be a spectator? How can you be a member of the family of God? The kingdom of God, spectators? You cannot.
Justify. Anything else? Then listen. showing forth the life of Christ. and sharing his life.
Are you ashamed of Jesus? then why don't you introduce him to somebody? How can you walk by people? Every day. Not introduced into Christ.
Listen. Either he's blown it in secret And I'm ashamed of him. Or I'm a coward. And I'm full of fear. of what somebody's going to think about me.
If I step out courageously and declare myself to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The desire of the heart of God. is that you and I would be saved. The second part of that desire is. that you would come to the knowledge Of what happened to you at Salvation?
Your true identity. your position in Christ, and your mission. And listen. What I want to ask is this, what did Jesus do? to make you so ashamed of him.
that you won't introduce into someone. What did he do? Did he do something I don't know about? I'll tell you what he did. He died.
Bloodied beaten and just about naked. On a cross to save you. Surely. You couldn't be ashamed of that. Thank you for listening to part two of God's Loving Desire for You.
For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our 24-7 online station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
